OVERNIGHT

Some call it a rift, others are taking a wait and see approach to an upcoming G7 financial meeting this weekend. Two of the participants--the U.S.and Japan--apparently have a difference about which way the yen should be going, up or down.

This is more of beggar-thy-neighbor tactics many in MSM want to deny because it reflects in one way just how bad the global economy is these days. Meanwhile, the Nikkei was up 0.9% to 16,607 in late morning trading, apparently gaining a boost from Wall Street's performance Monday led by billionaire Warren Buffett's note of taking a large stake in Apple by his Bershire Hathaway fund.

It might have had added significance owing to Buffett's long-claimed disdain for technology stocks or for buying only stocks he could understand. Yet Buffett has proved to be a hypocrit on many issues recently as it was revealed he uses arcane derivatives after firing heavy salvoes of criticism their way over the years. He and his octogenarian comrade Charlie Munger add to the public's growing distrust about Wall Street people saying one thing and doing another. The Omaha Hypocrit is hardly angelic.

Oil shares rallied on Wall Street Monday and the mood apparently carried over to Asian shares Tuesday with crude oil futures nearing a six-month high as attention began to shift to supply problems and the long term-bearish firm Goldman Sachs seems to be changing its tune, at least in the short term, issuing a bullish report. The U.S. dollar also rose to 109.70 against the yen.

In other markets, the Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5%, and Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2%., the Shanghai Composite Index was off 0.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was flat. Shippers were strong after the Baltic Dry Index, or freight charges, gained 2.2 percent overnight. 

 Reuters reported:

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that finance leaders from the Group of Seven rich nations will likely discuss currencies and that Japan will stress the need for stability in global foreign exchange market.G7 finance ministers and central bank heads will meet on May 20-21 in the northeastern Japanese city of Sendai.

Japan, which will host the G7 meeting, has signaled its readiness to intervene in the market to weaken its currency despite a recent U.S. Treasury report on currencies that appeared to warn against unilateral intervention.The yen hit an 18-month high against the dollar JPY= this month. "Currencies will be discussed as needed as part of fbroad debate on global 
economy," Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "We think stability in currencies is the most important."

However, Aso noted it would be hard to persuade Germany and Britain to deploy fiscal spending as part of wider G7 efforts to rev up global growth through coordinated fiscal stimulus.